iwanna-fuck-you-like-an-animal:
You actually save money on pet food by putting your dog or cat on a vegan diet. Trust me, you won’t be feeding them for as long as most people ; )
Actually, plenty of people have their pets on a vegan diet and they have the same life spans.
Anecdotes are not evidence, and they definitely should not be used as the deciding factor for putting a true carnivore on an herbivorous diet. Vegan cat food is essentially filler and vitamins. It’s virtually no different from the extremely low quality $1.50/lb cat food, Twin Pet. I haven’t heard of any cats raised vegan from birth to death via old age. Most cats on long term vegan diets seem to end up having to go back on a meat based diet, usually because of diabetes and urinary system health.
You don’t need to convince me cats can survive on vegan diets. Obviously, they can for awhile at least. I’m arguing that mere survival isn’t good enough, and that plant based cat foods will not lead to a healthy, thriving cat. There is virtually no reputable evidence or experts that support plant based cat foods… Yet tons that say it’s unhealthy and tons of experts who completely advise against it.
I also argue that it’s not safe, and is very risky. Cat’s bodies were meant to run on fat, not carbs. Diabetes is becoming epidemic in cats in recent years, due to pet food companies putting more and more plant based filler in their foods. The excess carbs in their diet is leading to diabetes. Urinary system problems are also becoming epidemic, because plant based foods alkalize their urine, promoting crystals which can be painful and lead to urinary blockage. Another reason is dry food isn’t good for them. Cats naturally get most of their moisture from prey, and will seldom drink enough on their own. This leads to UTIs. Vegan cat foods do both of these especially, because they’re fully plant based and typically have less moisture content.
There’s many more problems with plant based cat foods, which you can read about in my links here.
[Link 1] – This is especially important, because it talks about cat anatomy and physiology, and why plant matter is so hard on their bodies. Also has a neat anecdote at the end, since many vegan cat supporters use anecdotes.
[Link 2] – Includes vet opinions on the matter, with some criticisms of individual vegan cat food brands.
[Link 3] – Talks about why AAFCO approval doesn’t equal good quality food that will necessarily lead to a thriving animal.
[Link 4] – My criticisms of the study frequently used to supposedly verify the safety of vegan diet for cats.
[Link 5] – More information that goes more in depth than my info on cat anatomy and physiology.
Cats need taurine to stay alive at all. Taurine is only found in animal based sources. If your cat food has taurine in it, it’s not vegan food. If it doesn’t have taurine in it, your cat will die of a deficiency, but only after it gets sick and goes blind.
Your cat is physically incapable of being vegan. It can survive on a vegan diet in much the same way a human can squeeze out a day more of life in the desert by drinking their own urine. You do it because you have to and ultimately its really bad for you.
Life Pro Tip:
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PiraticOctopus 